Comparative Analysis Paper

Running head: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS PAPER

Comparative Analysis Paper

Mar B. Fortuno

Philippine Normal University

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Comparative Analysis Paper

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the development between two countries –

the Philippines and China. The Human Development Index was presented as the instrument for

analysis including the underlying principle presenting some fundamental perspectives on theories

of development. The comparative analysis is weighed on the indicators under the Human

Development Index – Adult literacy rate, Life expectancy, Gross enrollment rate, and GDP per

capita. The Structural theory of development was also applied as a theoretical instrument for the

comparative analysis of this paper, and from it these conclusions was derived: 1) that both

Philippines and China are within the Medium Human Development category in terms Human

Development Index, with China ahead in the ranking due to its continuing economic progress; 2)

that high economic development is not indicative of high human development due to inequities

and disparities in terms of opportunity; and 3) the prescriptions of structural theory in terms of

development isn’t always successful in many cases because the heavy involvement of the state

in the market created inefficiencies that eventually caused major internal and external economic

problems. And the drive to industrialize led, ironically, to increased dualism in developing

countries as the gap between the rich and the poor widened.

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Comparative Analysis Paper

Introduction

This paper tenders a comparative analysis on the state of development between the

Philippines and China. The analysis is primarily based on the Human Development Index of the

two countries upon which, the comparison will be weighed under the following indicators of

HDI: 1) Adult literacy rate; 2) Life expectancy; 3) Gross enrollment rate; and 4) GDP per capita.

From the description and interpretation of quantitative data, a comparative analysis follows

utilizing the Structural theory of development as a theoretical instrument where the conclusion

was derived. The objective that is, is to help social science teachers to have a deeper

understanding of the concept of development beyond quantitative data like HDI.

Based from the comparative analysis, the following conclusions have been derived: 1)

that both Philippines and China are within the Medium Human Development category in terms

Human Development Index, with China ahead in the ranking due to its continuing economic

progress; 2) that high economic development is not indicative of high human development due to

inequities and disparities in terms of opportunity; and 3) the prescriptions of structural theory in

terms of development isn’t always successful in many cases because the heavy involvement of

the state in the market created inefficiencies that eventually caused major internal and external

economic problems..

Rationale

Human Development Index brings together many aspects of genuine development, such

as political representation, improved health standards, greater access to livelihood programs, and

other similar phenomena. HDI rises above the narrow definition of development as the mere

accumulation of material wealth, although it cannot answer all the issues of development but at

least it gives us a better picture of how progress is being carried out (Villegas, 2001)

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Comparative Analysis Paper

This paper aims to compare the Human Development Index between two countries –

Philippines and China. Under the HDI, there are four basic indicators: 1) Adult literacy rate -

percentage of persons aged 15 and over who can read and write (UNESCO, n.d.); 2) Life

expectancy - the number of years newborn children would live if subject to the mortality risks

prevailing for the cross-section of population at the time of their birth (United Nation Population

Division [UNPD], n.d.); 3) Gross enrollment rate - the total number of children enrolled in a

schooling level -- whether or not they belong in the relevant age group for that level -- expressed

as a percentage of the total number of children in the relevant age group for that level. The net

enrolment ratio is the total number of children enrolled in a schooling level who belong in the

relevant age group, expressed as a percentage of the total number in that age group (United

Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], n.d.); and 4) GDP per

capita - an approximation of the value of goods produced per person in the country, equal to the

country's GDP divided by the total number of people in the country (World Bank, n.d.).

On the theoretical basis of this comparative analysis, the Structural Theory of

development shall be used as an analytical instrument. The main thesis of this theory, succinctly,

called attention to the distinct structural problems of Third World countries: underdeveloped

countries, they argued, were not merely "primitive versions" of developed countries; rather they

had distinctive features of their own. It also stressed the need for country-specific analysis of

development. One of these distinctive features was that, unlike European industrialization, Third

World industrialization was supposed to occur while these countries existed alongside already

industrialized Western countries and were tied to them by trade. This, speculated a few, could

give rise to distinct structural problems for development (Hirschmann, 1958)

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Comparative Analysis Paper

Presentation of Data

For the purpose of providing a concise presentation, the following tables containing basic

statistical data in terms of Human Development Index between Philippines and China are given:

Human Development Report 2009 (China)Human development data

MONITORING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: ENLARGING PEOPLE'S CHOICES . . .

HDI Rank

Human Life Adult Combined GDPdevelopment expectancy literacy gross per

index at rate enrolment capita

value birth (% aged 15 ratio(PPP US$)

(years) and above) in2007

education 2007

2007 2007(%)

2007

Medium Human Development      

92 China0.772

z72.9

z93.3 68.7 5,383

z

           Human Development Report 2009 (Philippines)Human development data

MONITORING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: ENLARGING PEOPLE'S CHOICES . . .

HDI Rank

Human Life Adult Combined GDPdevelopment expectancy literacy gross per

index at rate enrolment capitavalue birth (% aged 15 ratio (PPP US$)

(years) and above) in2007

education 2007

2007 2007(%)

2007

Medium Human Development      

105 Philippines0.751

z71.6

z93.4 79.6 3,406

z

           These data are based on the following computations:

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(Human Development Report [HDR], 2009)

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Comparative Analysis Paper

Immediately following this section is the presentation of the comparative analysis of the

state of development between the Philippines and China based on Human Development Index.

This paper shall be closed by a conclusion that will emphatically specify the reasons for the

disparity in development between the two countries based on HDI indicators, and what could be

the reasons for the disparity based on Structural Development Theory.

Comparative Analysis

On adult literacy rate

The Philippines is slightly ahead in this aspect (93.4%) as compared to the 93.3% of

China. On the other hand, if we take into account the total number of population between the two

countries, we can’t hardly argue that China’s adult literacy in terms of numbers (not in terms of

ratio) is greater than that of the Philippines. If we are to compute this, China’s population (2010)

- 1,337,170,000 * .933 = ±1,247,579,610; Philippines’ population (mid 2009) - 92,226,600

* .934 = ±86,139,644.4. So, in terms of numbers, there are more literate adult in China than in

the Philippines.

On life expectancy

With average years of 72.9, China’s life expectancy at birth surpassed that of the

Philippines’ by 1.3 years. If we’re going to equate the adult literacy rate on this indicator we can

easily explain that there is a big correlation between adult literacy rate and life expectancy in

both China and Philippines. It is pretty obvious that because there are more literate adult in

China that there is greater probability that a greater portion of their population is devoting their

knowledge and effort to improve their health services, therefore, increasing their chances in

terms of life expectancy compared to the Philippines who’s medical professionals are lured to

practice their profession abroad in exchange of higher paycheck.

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Comparative Analysis Paper

On gross enrollment rate

On this aspect, the Philippines have more children enrolled in school than that of China

by 10.9%. That means that there are less Filipino children who do not enjoy the opportunity to

learn in school as compared to China. Probably the main reason for this again, due to their huge

population that’s why they cannot accommodate most of their citizens of the needed educational

services as it would require greater space for the construction of classrooms that would probably

affect their main economic concern which is more devoted to business activities.

On GDP per capita

In this dimension index, China enjoys a much decent standard of living as measured by

their GDP per capita of US$5,383 compared to US$3,406 of the Philippines. This not surprising

due to the fact that the economy of the People's Republic of China is the third largest in the

world, after the United States and Japan with a nominal GDP of US$4.91 trillion when measured

in exchange-rate terms. It is the second largest in the world after that of the U.S. with a GDP

of $8.77 trillion when measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. China is the fastest-

growing major economy in the world, and has had the fastest growing major economy for the

past 30 years with an average annual GDP growth rate of over 10%. The country's per capita

income is at $3,677 (nominal, 98th of 178 economies), and $6,567 (PPP, 99th of 178 economies)

in 2009, according to the IMF. China is the second largest trading nation in the world and the

largest exporter and second largest importer of goods (Wikipedia, 2010)

On the other hand, the Philippine economy is still low based on GDP per capita compared

to China for reasons that, still, the Philippine economic development is still a result of

predominantly agricultural sector as compared to industrial sector on the part of China as well as

its agricultural sector. Purchasing power parity of GDP for fiscal year 2008 was $327.2 billion,

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Comparative Analysis Paper

while official exchange rate of GDP was $172.3 billion. Per capita GDP as was recorded in 2008

was $3,400 and 4.5% is real growth rate in gross domestic product. Agricultural sector

contributes about 13.8% to GDP, 2008 of Philippines economy and 31.9% is received from

industry. From service sector of Philippines economy contribution towards Philippines GDP is

about 54.3% (Economywatch, n.d.)

On the basis of structural theory of development

If we’re going to take a look once again on the table (p.5) presenting the Human

Development Index of the Philippines and China, we will notice that although there are some

disparities in the different dimension indices, Philippines and China both belong to the Medium

Human Development. China has a relatively higher rank mainly because it has a higher GDP per

capita than the Philippines. The main reason for this is because China has now become the third

largest economy in the world today (next to US and Japan) due to its booming industries. But

this doesn’t mean that most of its population enjoys the effects of this economic progress. The

same situation also applies to the Philippines. There is a problem of economic polarization where

only a small percentage of the population enjoys the bulk of the national income, while the

majority of the people are foraging on what was left. For these reason, on the basis of the

structural theory of development, Philippines and China are still considered “developing

countries”, significantly in terms of human development.

What could be the reasons for this? The Structural Theory of Development pointed out

the following causes:

1. Economic development may only be achieved through an internal expansion of the local

economy;

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Comparative Analysis Paper

2. Economic development meant improving the technological levels of lagging sectors of

the economy;

3. The structure of underdeveloped economies could be explained by the process through

which developing economies have historically been incorporated into the international

economy; and

4. The structural transformation of the economy could only be achieved through

government intervention (Contreras, 2010)

I agree with the arguments presented by the structural theory of development as enumerated

above. Economic development has a big correlation on human development. Human

development cannot be achieved in the absence of economic development in the first place.

Though it may be true that the main reason for the economic boom in China is due to the

following causes (as stipulated in their 11th Five Year Plans), the human development lags

behind. Here are the reasons:

1. Amid impressive growth, growing disparities;

2. The existence of sectors vulnerable to inequities in development;

3. An insecure and unfair labor market;

4. Discrepancies in education opportunities and allocation of resources;

5. Discrepancies in health public medical care;

6. An unequal fiscal revenue and expenditure system; and

7. Embryonic social security

In the case of the Philippines, work is perhaps the most vital component of human

development. Poverty in the Philippines is associated primarily with a low quality of

employment. Many factors influence the quality of employment. These are: (1) the overall rate of

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Comparative Analysis Paper

economic growth; (2) the total amount of human resources that the economy must absorb; (3) the

changing requirements and nature of jobs, as markets and technology affect different economic

sectors, and (4) the skills and abilities of the country’s labor force. The government has

important roles to play in the education-labor market. Foremost among these is the adoption of

macroeconomic and sectoral policies that will place the economy on the high road of income and

employment growth (Philippine Human Development Report [PHDR], 2002)

While the structural theorists made significant contributions to our knowledge of the

process of development, their prescriptions were not successful in many cases. Countries that

adopted the import-substitution model of development began to notice in the 1960s that

government-led initiatives to industrialize could not effectively create the most important phase

of industrialization relating to heavy machinery and plant installation. Moreover, the heavy

involvement of the state in the market created inefficiencies that eventually caused major internal

and external economic problems. And the drive to industrialize led, ironically, to increased

dualism in developing countries as the gap between the rich and the poor widened.

Conclusion

Based from the comparative analysis of the Human Development Index between

Philippines and China, the following conclusions are hereby obtained: 1) that both Philippines

and China are within the Medium Human Development category in terms Human Development

Index, with China ahead in the ranking due to its continuing economic progress; 2) that high

economic development is not indicative of high human development due to inequities and

disparities in terms of opportunity; and 3) the prescriptions of structural theory in terms of

development isn’t always successful in many cases because the heavy involvement of the state

in the market created inefficiencies that eventually caused major internal and external economic

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Comparative Analysis Paper

problems. And the drive to industrialize led, ironically, to increased dualism in developing

countries as the gap between the rich and the poor widened.

The utilization of the Human Development Index as an instrument to measure genuine

development is valuable as it reflect the quality of life of the people within a specific economy

aside from mere accumulation of wealth. It also presents a deeper understanding on the concept

of development because HDI and other Human Development Indices provide specific data for

analysis that would help researchers interpret certain economic phenomena such as development.

Finally, I conclude that it takes a lot of effort for a country to achieve development.

Economic development is not enough to attain genuine development because its validation is

mirrored on the quality of life of a country’s population. The use of the structural theory of

development has projected a clearer picture for me to look at development economics beyond

numbers.

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Comparative Analysis Paper

References

Contreras, R (2010). Competing theories of economic development [E-Book]. (Part I-III, B).

Retrieved April 25, 2010, from

http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/ebook2/contents/part1-III.shtml

Hirschmann, A.O. (1958). The strategy of economic development [Electronic version],

Retrieved April 28, 2010, from http://homepage.newschool.edu/het//profiles/hirschm.htm

Human Development Report. (2009). Monitoring human development: enlarging people’s

choices [Electronic version], Retrieved April 25, 2010, from

http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/buildtables/rc_report.cfm

Philippine Human Development Report. (2002). Work and well-being. [Electronic version].

(Abstract). Retrieved April 25, 2010, from

http://hdn.org.ph/philippine-human-development-reports/

Piza, S & Baroma, R. (2008). Philippine human development report: technical annex [PDF File],

(pp. 1-11), Retrieved April 26, 2010, from

http://hdn.org.ph/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/tin01_piza.pdf

Statistical Tables. (n.d.) Electronic dictionary. Retrieved April 27, 2010. from

http://www.unicef.org/sowc96/define.htm

Villegas, B.M. (2001). Guide to economics for Filipinos,. 6th ed., Philippines: Sinag-Tala

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